(The Center Square) — The Georgia Department of Labor is upgrading the state’s unemployment system, but officials won’t confirm the cost.
Officials said introducing a modern, web-based platform will empower the agency to streamline claim processing, decrease errors and improve fraud detection capabilities. It also makes it easier for residents to apply for unemployment insurance benefits and check the status of their claims, officials say.
“Modernizing Georgia’s 80s-era unemployment system represents the dynamic fusion between efficiency and innovation,” Commissioner Bruce Thompson said in an announcement. “A modern and responsive unemployment system minimizes claims processing times, enhances the customer experience, prevents fraud, and positions GDOL to become the most transparent and responsive agency in state government.”
The agency is working with Tata Consultancy Services to upgrade the system. Despite their vow of transparency, labor department officials did not respond to multiple requests to clarify the project’s cost.
The state’s labor department has had a bad run as of late.
Last month, following an internal audit, the Georgia Department of Labor returned more than $105.1 million in unremitted funds to the state treasury. Officials said the funds began accumulating in fiscal 2014 under the previous labor commissioner.
Earlier this year, a Fulton County grand jury indicted eight former state employees on unemployment insurance fraud charges. Prosecutors say they submitted false claims and weekly certifications to the labor department during the COVID-19 pandemic to receive unemployment insurance benefits when employed by the state.
Last year, the feds announced charges against eight people for conspiring to defraud the Georgia DOL out of tens of millions of dollars in federal funds for unemployment benefits. At the time, an expert told The Center Square the federal charges revealed the potential vulnerability of the state’s systems.
